The results of this year's Locus Awards voting were announced this weekend in Seattle, and I am delighted to announce that OLD VENUS took home the honors as last year's Best Anthology. Alas, I was not able to be there in person to accept. Nor was my co-editor, Gardner Dozois, who is still in hospital in Philadelphia recovering from a broken ankle. But we were both thrilled.

I did send LOCUS a few words to be read in the event of our victory:

"Gardner and I are both sorry that we could not be with you tonight, but we're surprised and delighted to accept this award for OLD VENUS. As with all of our anthologies, the real credit belongs to our writers, who gave us such amazing stories. Nonetheless, we plan on keeping the plaque for ourselves. Two years ago the readers of Locus honored OLD MARS as best anthology. This year OLD VENUS. It's very gratifying to know that the readers still appreciate new anthologies of old stuff... that is, new old stuff... well, you know what I mean... put together by old grey editors who were new young turks just yesterday. Keep your eyes out for OLD URANUS, coming to a bookstore near you soon...."

All kidding aside, I am very proud of OLD VENUS, and I know Gardner is as well. There are some terrific stories in there, and one that in any normal year would have been a surefire Hugo finalist. This is the third year in a row that one of the original anthologies that I've done with Gardner has won the Locus Award, and I can't tell you how gratifying that is. Gardner and I both began our careers (a long time ago) with short fiction, and it pleases me no end to be able to provide a showcase for some of the extraordinary short stories, novelettes, and novellas still being written in this age of the series and the meganovel. If you don't read anthologies, friends, you are missing out on some great stuff.

Oh, and before the crazy internet rumors start flying, I had better say that I was only kidding about OLD URANUS. I do want to do some more books with Gardner, but not until I have subdued the Son of Kong. Meanwhile, Gargy is flying solo on a couple of great new original anthologies of his own, and I know those will be full of awards contenders as well.

Anyway, thanks to all the good folks at LOCUS, and everyone who voted for OLD VENUS... or for the other nominated anthologies, which were pretty special as well.

And if any of who would like to check out OLD VENUS... or OLD MARS, or ROGUES, or DANGEROUS WOMEN, or any of my other anthologies.... signed copies remain available from the Jean Cocteau Cinema Bookstore at http://www.jeancocteaubooks.com/